[2] The northern one, with a more yellowish eye ring, is found from the Kimberleys across the top of the country to Mackay in central Queensland.

[9] The sooty oystercatcher almost always forages in the intertidal zone, for the two hours either side of low tide.

[7] A field study published in 2011 showed that prey items differed markedly between the sexes with only a 36% overlap.

Females focussed on soft-bodied prey which they could swallow whole such as fish, crabs, bluebottle jellyfish and various worm-like creatures such as cunjevoi, while males preferred hard-shelled prey such as mussels (Mytilus planulatus), sea urchins, turban shells (Lunella undulata and Lunella torquata), and black periwinkle (Nerita atramentosa).

[7] A clutch of two to three eggs is laid in a crevice in rocks or small hollow or flat on the ground, often on an island or high place where parent birds can keep watch.